The Sheffield Steeler who broke through the pain barrier

He played an unbroken 67 games last season for Sheffield Steelers, matched only by Robert Dowd and Kevin Schulze.

Spectators would never have known that the 24-year-old defenceman was plagued by issues involving knee and wrists in every one of those matches.

"My knee wasn't great all year" he revealed.

"I had surgery up in Fife, and was still using a brace.

"I am going to try going without that, which should help me move a bit better as it inhibits movements a little bit."

He added: "I had other injuries, not like Vally (Marco Vallerand) and Dowdy who played though serious stuff.

"My wrists have been terrible for five or six years, now.

"There is not much you can do with wrists; I sprained them around five years ago when cross-checking somebody.

"Ever since then it has not been very good, it is sometimes hard to shoot or pass, so it is not ideal.

"They say if it's playable you can keep playing with it, so I did."

Jones said he had not been getting Cortisone shots. "Not at this stage, as I don't want to rely on them, we'll see."

The summer will help Jones recover and rehabilitate and he says his knee is feeling better and stronger now.

He has age on his side - although he believes perception about his own development is open to interpretation.

"24 or 25 in British hockey seems young," he says.

"The EIHL is a much older league compared to some others" - the Steelers' side of last year had an average age heading towards 32.

"You might be called a young Brit but compared to the ECHL or AHL it is not young.

"So for me it is more about trying to be an impact player.

"My hope is to get physically fitter while picking up dramatically on how I read the game.

"I need to work on my mental side...decision-making needs to be improved but that will happen year on year."

Jones will have plenty of time at Sheffield to increase his importance to the roster.

The former Fife Flyer was Sheffield's first re-signing of the Summer; he was awarded a two-year deal.

He is preparing for the new EIHL campaign while also working as a fitness, conditioning, and nutritional online coach for fellow athletes.

"I run my business (Sam Jones Sports Performance) in the Summer, I had worked hard from February to May to get clients in for the off-season.

"The business is going really well, I finished my University course, am growing my social media, and helping people, mostly hockey players. I want kids in UK to get professional help."